The T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final against England at the Wankhede Stadium brought out the best in the Indian batting lineup as the defending champions hammered 253/7 in 20 overs, owing to Sanju Samson’s 89-run knock. Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya also played useful cameos as India posted more than 250 runs on the board. Dube was looking set to score his seventh half-century in T20Is for India on Thursday, but it wasn’t meant to be as a horror mix-up in the middle with Hardik led to the former losing his wicket for 43.
The incident happened on the third delivery of the 18th over, and Hardik’s misjudgement cost Dube dearly. Sam Curran bowled a pitch-perfect yorker right at the base of the middle stump, and Hardik just managed to squeeze it to mid-wicket.
Dube then responded to the call and was halfway down the pitch, only to be sent back by Hardik. There was just a stump to aim for, and Harry Brook, the England captain, did not miss as he struck the base of the stump, sending Dube back to the hut. Hardik immediately raised his hand, apologising to the left-handed batter.
Earlier, England captain Brook won the toss and opted to bowl. India capitalised on the good batting conditions at the Wankhede, hammering 253 runs on the board. Abhishek Sharma lost his wicket in the second over; however, Samson and Kishan did not let England off the hook as the duo put on 97 runs for the second wicket.
Samson could have gone for his century, but he put the team first, sacrificing his wicket on 89 in trying to go for a big shot.
India shatter several records
The score of 253/7 is the fourth-highest team total in T20 World Cup history. This was also the second time that India went past the 250-run mark in the 2026 edition of the tournament, having previously done so against Zimbabwe in the Super 8s.
Speaking at the mid-innings, Kishan said, “When I want in, Sanju got a few boundaries. The pitch was flat. We had to get the momentum going. I had to play good cricketing shots. It’s a very good wicket and we have to bowl in a very good manner today. The plan was clear – if the ball there, you go for it.”
India’s innings was studded with 19 sixes, the joint-third highest tally of maximums in a single T20 World Cup batting innings. This was also the second time that any team managed to post a score of more than 200 in a T20 World Cup knockout game after West Indies’ 205/4 vs Australia in the 2012 semis at Colombo RPS.
